


Chasing Coffee

by Yesimawriter



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Blind Harry, Coffee is a good girl, Cute, Fluff, Good Draco Malfoy, HP Fluff Fest 2020, M/M, POV Harry Potter, service dog
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-04
Updated: 2020-09-04
Packaged: 2021-03-06 14:53:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,662
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26080708
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Yesimawriter/pseuds/Yesimawriter
Summary: Harry's service dog, Coffee, is obsessed with a certain Slytherin prat, and Harry cannot figure out why. It can't be becauseHarrywants to spend more time with him, right?
Relationships: Draco Malfoy/Harry Potter
Comments: 23
Kudos: 436
Collections: HP Fluff Fest 2020





	Chasing Coffee

**Author's Note:**

> I would firstly like to thank my beta reader, the amazing Kaichu aka @evil_socks_ (follow them on ig, guys!), for all of the wonderful advice and cute comments that encouraged me and helped me improve this fic. There were a few more scenes I wanted to add with hurt/comfort and crying, and it was so, so difficult to not add some angst to this fic, but I had promised myself to make this the fluffiest piece I possibly could. So I hope I've done this prompt justice and all of you readers enjoy it!

Harry was four years old when he had first felt a mother’s touch. Soft hands cupped his cheeks and he felt the press of unfamiliar lips to his forehead. Then another hand, less soft and more calloused than the last, rubbed the hair on his head. A distinctly male voice spoke fondly to him, calling his hair a ‘bird’s nest’.

That was the moment he knew that he had a family that truly loved him. No more sleeping in cupboards or listening to the Dursleys hurling abuses at him. He was safe with his new family. Safe, and finally at home.

* * *

He was eleven years old when he was gifted his service dog. It was not a gift according to his parents. They had been advised to give it to him. Still, Harry treated the dog as a gift. He had a pet now! It yapped at him, its bark quick and sharp and its fur fluffy. When he hugged the tiny puppy, he realised that it was also quite squishy.

“Careful, Harry,” his adoptive mom said with a chuckle, as his dad continued laughing.

* * *

When he was twelve years old, Harry found out that he was a wizard.

“What does that mean?” His dad asked.

“Are you going to take our son away from us?” His mom asked, sounding frightened.

Harry found out that his biological mother, Lily, and his biological father, James, were wizards killed by an extremely dangerous wizard. He was told by the kind-sounding giant, Hagrid, that he would have to transfer to a school which taught other young wizards like him. A place called Hogwarts.

His parents refused to send him there. They wanted him to stay in a muggle school since they feared a wizarding school would be dangerous for him. But one of the unfortunate disadvantages of not going to Hogwarts was that he was could not control his magic. His magical incidents ranged from changing the texture of their floor to starting a fire in his chemistry class.

So, when he turned fifteen, his parents finally gave in and prepared to send him to Hogwarts. They told him that he would stay there, learn magic, different spells and all kinds of wonderful things. They told him he would be back home during the summer holidays.

Harry knew that he would miss his parents, but he told them that he would manage to live without them for a couple of months. He wanted to learn what it meant to be a wizard.

* * *

“Where are you taking me, Coffee?” Harry asked his service dog as he was dragged through the Hogwarts Quidditch pitch. He heard several shouts and could sense that there were people around him. Coffee was excitedly barking and tugging on her leash. He knew that if he let go she would just run away, and it would be almost impossible to find her.

“Oiii!” Someone close to Harry yelled. He heard a slight thump in the grass and felt Coffee jumping up as if to catch something.

“Coffee,” Harry sighed. “What are you doing?”

Just then, Harry felt a rush of air passing by him and several people seemed to have gathered around him. Their voices surrounded him.

“What was that?”

“Did that dog just-?”

“How are we supposed to play now?”

“I’m so sorry!” Harry exclaimed, realizing that Coffee had done something wrong. She was not making any sort of noises anymore. Harry hoped that she wasn’t dead. It was his first day of school. Getting his dog killed on the first day would probably not make a particularly good first impression on the students and teachers of Hogwarts.

“Coffee, what did you _do_?” Harry urgently asked. He tugged at Coffee’s leash until she was within reach. As the voices around him grew louder, he could hear accusations flying around about his dog. She had caught something in her mouth.

“Coffee!”, Harry exclaimed after not getting any response from her. Apparently she _did not_ want to let go of the whatever she trapped inside her mouth. He sighed. Rubbing her head gently, he knelt down and said, “Open your mouth, Coffee. Be a good girl for me. Come on.” Coffee kept her mouth stubbornly shut.

Harry groaned. It was getting quite crowded around him, he could tell. Coffee’s unwillingness to give back whatever she had hidden in her mouth was causing a commotion.

Just as Harry thought about sitting down to pull Coffee onto his lap and _forcefully_ open her mouth, he heard a voice cutting through the crowd.

“ _What_ is taking so long?” The voice asked, tone haughty and impatient. It sounded as though it belonged to a boy of his age. Harry heard footsteps approaching him and he tensed instinctively. The sound of footsteps stopped and he heard a sigh from somewhere above him. _The boy was standing right in front of him._

“You’re useless. All of you! Useless idiots. My father was right about Hogwarts. I should have gone to Beauxbatons!” Harry internally cringed at the insults hurled by the boy, being reminded of somebody else that he knew with a similar speech pattern.

Drawing on his confidence, Harry stood up, facing the direction he thought the boy was standing opposite. He hoped he looked as intimidating as he had wanted to seem.

Before Harry could say anything to him, the boy spoke up again. “Here, let me try. What is the dog’s name?” It took Harry a second to realise the boy was talking to him and _expecting him to answer_.

“Her name is Coffee.” Harry said, neutrally. He did not want to end up on someone’s wrong side on his very first day, but he didn’t know what to think about this boy.

“Alright then,” the boy huffed. Harry heard shoes squelching in the mud, and this time when the boy spoke, his voice was mild and soft. “Hello there, Coffee. That is your name isn’t it? Who named you? Who is this horrible, _horrible_ person who carries you everywhere on a leash and does _not_ let you have fun? Huh?”

Harry scoffed and folded his arms. He wanted to give the boy a _scathing_ response about how he was _not_ horrible at all. He was in fact very, _very_ kind and helpful. But Harry felt Coffee kicking her hind leg, which she only did when someone was rubbing her under the chin. That was her sensitive spot.

Suddenly, Harry realised what the boy was trying to do. It took a few seconds, and the crowd swarming around them was surprisingly silent as they all waited with baited breaths. And then Coffee barked.

Harry felt as though he had just been stabbed in the back. _The betrayal!_

The entire field of students burst out cheering and clapping. They had the ‘ _snitch_ ’ back, whatever that was, and _‘Malfoy’_ had done it again, whoever that was. Although Harry had an inkling about who Malfoy was.

“You are _very_ welcome,” a familiar smug voice said to Harry. Harry frowned. “I’m Draco Malfoy, and you are?”

Harry supposed it wouldn’t hurt to make a friend out of this boy. He _had_ helped in opening Coffee’s mouth, as much as Harry did not want to admit it. And maybe his first impression of the boy was wrong. He might actually be nice. Who knew?

Harry held out his hand. “I’m Harry Potter,” he said, and noticed how a hush settled over the field. Had Coffee done something again? Had she really died this time? Harry continued to speak:

“I just transferred here. I’m sorry about Coffee, she can be a little too excited sometimes. She’s my service dog.” He added the last part so he could indirectly answer the question that would eventually be asked.

“She’s delightful,” the boy—Draco, said as he shook Harry’s hand. Harry could feel a smile growing across his own face. He heard one of the students asking another, ‘ _Is that really_ the _Harry Potter?’_ Another one whispered ‘ _I didn’t know that he was blind!’_

Before Harry could react or ask what they meant, Draco spoke up, “What are you all still doing here? I freed the snitch from Coffee, didn’t I? Now scram!”

“But Draco, you’re our Seeker!” One of the students called out.

“I know. I’ll join the practice soon, Zabini,” Draco replied, exasperated. Then he spoke normally, seeming to direct his attention towards Harry. “Come on. Let us sit here on the sidelines for a while. I want to pet Coffee some more. She is a good girl.”

“She’s a menace,” Harry scowled, but still followed Coffee, who was probably following Draco. Harry was glad he decided to befriend Draco. His initial impression of the boy had clearly been completely wrong. Draco was nothing like his cousin Dudley.

Draco chuckled at Harry’s response, which Harry had to admit, was a _nice_ sound. “Maybe. But she is a cute menace.” Harry frowned at that. He didn’t know whether she was _cute,_ but he would allow it.

As Coffee stopped walking, so did Harry. He carefully took short steps ahead and tried to navigate his surrounding to make out where he was supposed to sit down.

“Should I- Do you need help?” Draco asked, unsurely.

Harry shook his head. “I’ve got it.” He proved his point by sitting down on the wooden bench. He felt Draco sitting down next to him. Draco sighed and Coffee shuffled near his feet, shifting closer to Draco.

“Who’s a good girl, Coffee? That’s right, you are,” Draco began to murmur fondly. Harry simply closed his eyes and enjoyed the wind blowing though his hair. He had to admit—he would not mind listening to Draco’s deep, lilting, and slightly dreamy voice for a few more hours.

“Potter!” Draco snapped, and Harry tensed. “Stop drifting off. You’re making Coffee feel ignored.”

Harry arched an eyebrow at Draco’s dramatic tone. “Did she tell you that with her barks or did you teach her Morse code?”

“Piss off,” Draco responded. Harry smiled again. Neither of them moved.

“Malfoy, get your arse moving!” Someone finally shouted.

“Fine, I’m coming! But if Theo falls from his broom again, I’m kicking him off the field!” Draco yelled. Then he spoke to Harry. “It looks like I have to go.” Harry nodded at him and began to stand up. Draco’s voice turned suddenly soft when he spoke again. “I’m so sorry, Coffee. I’m going to have to go, girl. I’ll miss you!”

Harry rolled his eyes. “Get your arse moving, Malfoy.”

He heard Draco scoff in response. “I was just waiting to ask if you needed any help, Potter.”

Harry snorted at him. “I can handle walking back to the school with my dog, Malfoy.”

He heard Draco walking away as he muttered under his breath. “I _know_ that. I was just trying to be nice…”

Harry shook his head again, lips twitching into a small smirk. “Let’s go back to the castle, Coffee. I can’t wait to move into my new room any longer.”

* * *

Harry had been staying at Hogwarts for a week now. He was so busy with trying to learn the basics of the completely new subjects and catching up with the rest of his classmates that he did not have time for much else.

He was endlessly fascinated with all the different spells and how everything worked in the wizarding world, but he especially loved learning about magical creatures. The magical creatures’ class was taught by Hagrid, and every lesson he introduced a new creature to the class. So, at the start of every lesson, Harry tried to create a profile of the creature in his mind based on Coffee’s reaction to it.

He had also made some new friends; two Gryffindors and a Ravenclaw student. Ron and Hermione had both been in most of his classes so far and he usually ended up sitting next to one of them, sometimes both. They were both talkative and especially so during lectures, so becoming friends with them had been inevitable.

He had met Luna Lovegood while walking down an unfamiliar corridor when she had looped her arm into his and dropped him off to his class. Harry always seemed to meet her at the most unexpected times.

Then there was Draco Malfoy. He was in all of Harry’s classes. Harry knew this because he could distinctly hear and recognize Draco’s posh drawl and the sound of his laughter in every one of his classes. In fact, Coffee had barked at Draco when Harry had entered his very first class at Hogwarts, alerting Harry to his presence.

“ _Coffee!_ ” Harry had hissed lowly.

And Draco, of course, had responded in that soft, gentle tone as he had approached Harry and Coffee. “Hello, girl. Did you miss me?” She quietened immediately.

Fortunately, she had learned not to do this in every class they attended.

Harry still didn’t know whether could call Draco a friend. Draco talked to Coffee, sure, but he never spoke directly to Harry. He never so much as uttered a word to him.

Harry supposed, in all fairness, that the same was true for him. He never directly approached or spoke to Draco either. It was always Coffee who wanted to be pet by him or listen to his kind words. Harry wondered what _he_ would have to do to get some of Draco’s attention. Would he have to bark, too?

All of this was further complicated by the fact that Harry was a Gryffindor while Draco was a Slytherin. Harry had heard that there was a long-standing rivalry between their two houses. He didn’t care, or he wouldn’t, if Draco would come and speak to him again.

Harry was currently sitting in the owlery, listening to the hooting of the owls, and trying to relax while Coffee sat contentedly next to him with her face balanced on his knee. Harry pet her and let the stress of the day slowly escape his body. But he was still deep in thought.

He hoped that he would be able to spend some time alone up here with no disturbances, but soon enough he heard the sound of familiar footsteps making their way up to the owlery.

‘ _Draco_ ’, Harry thought to himself right before he felt Coffee tense up. She stood attentively and started to bark in the way she did when demanding belly rubs, chin scritches and lots of attention. _‘So, it is Draco then.’_

“You do remember who your owner is, right? Who has spent the past few years taking care of you and loving you? Because I think you’re starting to forget in your old age.” Harry told her in a whisper.

All he got in response was a thwack of Coffee’s tail across his cheek, as she wagged it excitedly, awaiting Draco’s arrival. Harry grunted and stood up as the familiar footsteps reached the top of stairs and entered the owlery.

“Oh, Coffee! What a pleasant surprise it is to see you here,” Draco said, sounding a bit _too_ delighted. He let out a laugh as Coffee barked some more and Harry felt her leash slipping from his grasp. “So you want me to pet you, is that what you’re saying? Fine, here, let me pet you.”

Harry was decidedly looking away and _not_ upset about the fact that Malfoy was talking to Coffee and ignoring _him_. Again. “You could at least greet her owner too. I’m sure she wouldn’t mind that,” Harry grumbled at him, folding his arms.

Silence echoed through the owlery after Harry had spoken and stretched for a long moment. “I didn’t think the owner wanted to be spoken to,” Draco quietly murmured, “…by me.”

“What gave you that idea?” Harry almost demanded as he turned to face Draco, hands falling to his sides.

“You never made any efforts to talk to me, and it just seemed like you didn’t want to,” Draco said. His tone sounded serious and so different from the last time he had spoken to Harry. “Coffee seemed like the only one who was happy to see me.”

“I—” Harry huffed at the hair he felt falling onto his forehead. “—that’s not true. I’ve just been very busy since I came here. I’ve been trying to catch up on everything that I’ve missed so far,” Harry blurted out, “That’s why I had no time to talk to you.”

The only times that Harry had encountered Draco in the past few days had been when Coffee had stopped him and demanded to be pet.

He heard Draco clearing his throat. “There is a lot that you have missed. Besides, you seemed quite content in spending time with Granger and Weasley. It did not seem like you wanted any more company.”

Harry sat down, his slight grumpiness still evident as he spoke, “Well, you were wrong… and I met you first, remember?”

“I suppose I was,” Draco replied as he sat down next to Harry, their shoulders brushing. “Was I the first person you met at Hogwarts?”

Harry could hear soft noises falling from Coffee’s mouth and he could feel her tail resting lightly on his upper thigh. He concluded that Coffee must have settled into Draco’s lap and he must still be gently petting her.

“Yes, you were. You were the first person I had a proper conversation with over here, too.” Before they could drown in uncomfortable silence again, Harry asked, “What are you doing here anyway? Were you following Coffee because you wanted to pet her?”

Draco scoffed at that. “I did not even know you were here, Potter. Don’t be ridiculous! I simply came by to give Ulysses the letter I wanted to send my parents.”

“Oh,” Harry blinked in surprise. “Ulysses is your owl? You send letters to your parents, too?”

“Yes, of course. What kind of stupid question is that?” Draco responded in a haughty tone, making Harry go silent.

Then, Harry heard Draco softly sighing. “Were you here to send a letter to your parents too, Potter?” Draco spoke without a hint of haughtiness in his tone this this time.

Harry hesitated and then shook his head. “I just came up here to relax. I don’t know why but the sound of the wind from up here and the soft hooting of the owls helps me forget about how disastrous I’ve been in all of my classes.”

“Well, you haven’t been that bad,” Draco spoke quietly again. “It must have been difficult to transfer here when you knew nothing of this world. But I happen to think that you’re a quick learner.”

Harry snorted. “Difficult might be a bit of an understatement. And you’re lying. I’m a mess, Draco. I have absolutely no idea what I’m doing, or if I’m doing anything right.”

Draco muttered something under his breath. Harry strained to hear his words but failed. Just as he was about to ask Draco what he had said, Draco spoke again. “I could help you if you want.”

Harry perked up at that. “You would do that?”

“Of course, Potter,” Draco’s posh tone was back, along with his haughty drawl, but Harry did not mind it this time. He welcomed it, in fact.

“That would be great!” Harry grinned and he stood up excitedly. “Thank you so much, Draco. I’ll get going now and let you send that letter to your parents.”

“Goodbye Potter.”

“Bye, Draco. Don’t start ignoring me again.”

Draco snorted. “I was never ignoring you, Potter .”

“Sure, Malfoy. Whatever you say.”

“Get lost, Potter. I’ll see you soon, Coffee.”

Coffee barked in response and Harry knelt down, reaching out to pat the ground around him to find Coffee’s leash. He froze for a second as Draco handed it to him. Draco’s hand was warm and soft in his grasp and Harry did not want to let go. “Thanks.”

Draco pulled his hand away as he said, “Take care of your horrible owner, Coffee. I wouldn’t want him to injure himself and find a reason to cancel on my tutoring lessons with him.”

Harry laughed as he stood up and began walking away, his grip on Coffee’s leash secure. “I would never cancel on you, Draco. I’ll see you soon.”

“See you soon, Potter.”

As Harry followed Coffee down the stairs, his mouth settled into a soft smile.

* * *

Harry angled his face up, letting the sun shine on it, warming it up. He sat under the shade of a tree near the Great Lake with Coffee curled up next to him. She too was enjoying the sunny weather, he could tell.

A sudden bark interrupted the peace that had settled over Harry. “Coffee?”

Harry felt his hand being pulled by Coffee’s leash. Coffee was probably standing up, wanting to go for a walk or chase whatever had caught her attention. “Alright, give me a minute. I’m getting up.”

Even as he was standing up, Coffee tugged on his leash several more times and continued barking loudly. “We’re going, just a second!”

As they finally began to walk, Coffee sped up making Harry increase his pace until they were both almost sprinting to her destination. Harry was wheezing and sweating profusely by the time Coffee stopped running and barking.

“Are you alright, Potter?” Draco’s voice had Harry straightening up immediately and trying to make himself seem presentable. Of course Coffee had led him on a wild goose chase leading straight to Draco. What was he expecting? Coffee was obsessed with him.

“I’m fine, Draco.” Harry’s voice came out a little breathless and he cleared his throat as he continued speaking. “How are you?”

“I’m great. The weather is quite pleasant today isn’t it? I was thinking of taking a walk around the Great Lake. Would you like to join me?” Draco asked. Harry’s heart almost jumped out of his ribcage.

“I would love that,” Harry said. Before either of them could get another word in, Coffee barked.

“Ah, Coffee. Hello, girl,” Draco spoke, his voice all soft again. “No, don’t get mad at me. I wasn’t ignoring you. I was just talking to your owner, I promised him I would talk to him.”

Harry’s heart fluttered as he listened to Draco’s conversation with Coffee. This wasn’t the first time he had experience the fluttering or the butterflies in his stomach. It happened every single time Draco talked to Coffee.

“Come on then, Potter. Let’s walk,” Draco said, and Harry nodded his head. As they walked side by side, however, Harry suddenly had an idea. It was so brilliant and absurd, and “so Gryffindor” as Draco would probably say, that Harry almost considered not doing it.

But he _was_ a Gryffindor after all, so he took a deep breath and said, “Draco.” Holding his hand out to Draco, he continued, “I think you should hold my hand so I don’t end up walking in a different direction and we can stick together.”

There was a long pause during which Harry’s face began to slowly heat up. He realised his idea might not have been so brilliant after all.

“Can’t you just follow the sound of my voice like you’ve done plenty of times before? And isn’t that why you have a service dog, Potter? You know Coffee loves me enough to follow me without getting distracted, and she seems well trained.” Draco said, observant as always.

“She is. I guess I forgot. Let’s just continue walking,” Harry spoke quietly, trying to hide his disappointment. He wanted the ground to open up and swallow him whole. He could chance running straight towards the Great Lake and jumping in. Maybe he would get lucky and get eaten by the giant squid.

“You know, Potter…” Draco drawled, sounding amused. Harry immediately tensed up. “If you wanted me to hold your hand, you could have just said so. There was no need to try and find an excuse for it.”

And Harry hated that Draco had managed to read him so well, to read the whole situation so well. Before Harry could backtrack, he felt Draco’s hand slide into his own. It felt just as warm and soft as it had the first time and his chest suddenly felt lighter. Harry felt as though the sun were shining directly into his chest, making it feel bright and warm.

“I’ll remember that the next time,” Harry said shyly and heard a quiet chuckle from Draco as they walked hand in hand around the Great Lake.

* * *

Harry laughed at a sarcastic quip Draco had made as he led him out of the Gryffindor common room, Coffee trotting next to him.

“Shut up, Malfoy,” Harry said, laughing harder as they reached the entrance.

“It’s true! You keep wondering what Coffee is always barking at. It’s the birds that keep hovering around your hair, mistaking it for their nest. They keep searching for the eggs they’re sure they laid there.” Draco replied. Harry knew Draco was smirking at him.

“Would you stop? My hair is not that bad!” Harry insisted, his laugh slowly tapering down, but he was still smiling widely. “No birds even wander around it.”

“I’m not lying Potter, I never lie. I saw it myself the other day,” Draco retorted.

“No. I am not listening to this. Shut up and get out, Malfoy.” Harry pushed Draco towards the entrance and Coffee gave a quick bark.

“Is that any way to treat a guest in the Gryffindor tower?” Draco asked and Harry knew that he was probably grinning from ear to ear now.

“You’re not a guest here, and do I need to remind you how Snape practically kicked me out of the Slytherin dungeons a few days ago? It was all your fault, too. I didn’t even do anything bad,” Harry said, throwing his hands up in the air exasperatedly.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Draco muttered. Just as Harry was about to push him again, he exclaimed, “I’m leaving, I’m leaving! So inhospitable. Pssh…Gryffindors. Bye Coffee, my one true love!”

Harry shook his head fondly and turned around only when the door to their common room closed. He had listened to Draco complaining about how the red and golden design of their common room, Harry’s own room, and their outfits was so unflattering on them. Green and silver was a much better combination according to Draco.

While Draco had been in the middle of his passionate rant about house colours, Harry had casually shrugged and admitted that he wouldn’t mind wearing green and silver once in a while. His response had had Draco stuttering over his words and nervously stating that he had to leave for some potions-related work Snape had given him.

It was only now, once Draco had left and Harry was walking back to his room, that he realised why Draco had sounded so flustered. He had essentially told Draco that he would wear his clothes. Harry felt heat crawl up his skin as he groaned.

“God, I’m such an idiot, Coffee.” But it wasn’t like Harry would mind wearing Draco’s clothes. He wouldn’t mind that at all.

Draco smelled like one of those awfully expensive colognes. Harry could never get enough of that smell, especially with the added smell of his peppermint and clove shampoo. There was another wooden smell that Harry could not identify that really appealed to him.

Suddenly Harry pulled himself out of his stupor. What was he thinking? He should probably concentrate on where he was going. He should not be standing in the common room like a prat. “Come on, Coffee. Let’s go back to our room.”

“Hey Harry,” Ron called out to him. “Was that Malfoy? What was he doing here with you?”

“Oh hi, Ron. He’s tutoring me, actually. You know how new everything is for me and how hopeless I am with all of these new subjects.” Harry responded.

“I could teach you whatever you want to learn, Harry,” Hermione spoke up. “There’s no need for Malfoy to come.”

“Don’t worry about it, Hermione. Draco is an excellent teacher. I’m acing all of our class tests because of him.” Harry replied, not liking how Hermione had said the word _‘Malfoy’_.

“Are you sure that’s all it is, mate? You hang out with him a lot these days,” Ron said.

Harry shrugged, reminding himself that these were his friends. He could not get angry at them for asking him about Draco. “He’s my friend and I want spend time with him. I don’t care that he’s a Slytherin. Coffee likes him, and I—” Harry cleared his throat, feeling his cheeks heat up. “—I like him too.”

* * *

Harry’s wand trembled in his grasp even as Draco’s pale hand held his, attempting to steady his grip. “Easy, Potter,” Draco softly whispered in his ear and Harry shuddered.

Draco’s warm breath gently caressed his neck as Harry backed closer into him. Draco was standing right behind him, teaching Harry the different techniques of moving the wand and his body along with it. They practiced different spells.

The theoretical lessons Draco had been giving were easy in comparison to the practical lessons. Harry knew Draco had to get more creative during those since he could not exactly rely on Harry’s visual receptors.

Harry could feel Draco’s body pressed against his back and wished he didn’t get so easily distracted by Draco.

“Ready, Potter?” Draco asked, and Harry couldn’t help but notice how those words rolled off Draco’s tongue. Every time he said _‘Potter’_ , Harry lost his ability to think or speak for a moment.

Drawing a deep breath in, Harry blurted out, “I like you, Draco.” He felt Draco straightening up behind him.

“I like you too, Potter. We are friends now, aren’t we?”

Harry sighed at him. “No, Draco. I _like_ you. As in I want to kiss you.”

He heard Draco’s breath hitch. “R-right now ?”

Harry frowned. “What do you mean, right now?” And then he suddenly realised what Draco meant. _Do you want to kiss me right now, Potter?_

“No! Not right now. Not right now, Draco. I just wanted you to know what I meant,” Harry quickly replied. His face always seemed to grow warm whenever Draco was around.

Harry was capable of embarrassing himself to a surprisingly high degree when it came to Draco.

“Oh, okay then,” Draco said, and Harry waited with bated breath for Draco to continue speaking. After a slight moment of hesitation, Draco did. “I think I may like you too, Potter.”

A smile grew across Harry’s face. “Yeah?”

“Yeah, Potter. Now how about we concentrate on the spell. I think Coffee might be growing impatient with us. It has been a while since I last pet her—almost 15 minutes.”

* * *

Harry was walking towards the Quidditch pitch and no, it was not because he was hoping to bump into a certain Slytherin prat. He was simply taking Coffee for one of her regular morning walks. Nothing else.

His heart _definitely_ did not skip a beat when said Slytherin prat called out to him and greeted Coffee. Coffee’s delighted barks and Draco’s cute laugh did not make butterflies flutter in Harry’s stomach. The way Draco kept his hand on top of Harry’s as he spoke to him absolutely did _not_ make Harry’s brain short circuit.

Harry felt completely normal. His internal organs were working just fine, thank you very much. And Harry felt no disappointment when Draco said goodbye to him and walked away. He just sighed.

“Come on, Coffee. Let’s go somewhere else,” he said, tugging on Coffee’s leash. But Coffee did not budge. “Coffee, come on! Draco’s busy practicing for his big game, we better not disturb him anymore.”

Coffee however, had other plans. She took off in the opposite direction towards Draco, and Harry, who had her leash tied to his wrist, was dragged along with her.

Harry thought that he would surely fall to the ground and take Coffee down with him as he stumbled and tripped on the grass. But thankfully, Draco had not walked too far from them and had noticed that Coffee was running towards him. Harry was dragged straight into his arms.

“Potter,” Draco said, sounding extremely surprised.

“I— Malfoy— Shit! I’m so sorry, Draco. I didn’t— Coffee, she dragged me—” Harry tried to explain, as he pulled himself away from Draco’s embrace.

“You know, Potter,” Draco said, and there was that drawl again along with that haughty tone of voice. Harry thought he knew was Draco was going to say next. “If you wanted to hug me that badly, you could have just said so. There was no need to get Coffee involved.”

“What? That’s not— I didn’t want to—” Harry stopped talking, realising that although he had pulled away from Draco, he still had his hands on his chest. He let out a soft breath before gripping Draco’s shirt .

“Potter?” Draco asked unsurely, and Harry swallowed.

“It’s _Harry_ , Draco, not Potter.”

There was a moment of pause before Draco said it. “Harry.”

And suddenly all he wanted to do in that moment was to kiss Draco. So he did.

He pulled Draco down and stood on his toes, angling his head up so he could meet Draco’s lips. They were soft and warm. The kiss felt wonderful and perfect. Harry felt as though he were drifting up to heaven. Discovering a new part of heaven with every quick kiss they stole.

As they pulled away breathlessly, Harry could hear Draco breathing heavily along with him.

“ _Harry_ ,” Draco suddenly said. His hands were tentatively touching the sides of Harry’s waist .

“Yeah, Draco?”

Harry’s left hand gently touched the centre of Draco’s chest, where he could feel Draco’s rapidly beating heart, while his right hand was in Draco’s hair. The hair felt just as Harry had imagined it would feel— soft and silky.

“I—” Draco laughed. “—I _definitely_ like you.”

Harry laughed along with him.

**Author's Note:**

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